How to Avoid the Five Most Common Healthcare Marketing Writing Mistakes

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How to Avoid the Five Most Common Healthcare
Marketing Writing Mistakes

• There are times when you have to create a letter,
  a flyer, or some other promotional piece quickly
  and without professional help. Whatever you
  generate will be much more effective if you
  manage to avoid these five most common writing
  mistakes in your healthcare marketing
• YOU is always better than ME Instead of
  placing too much emphasis on your practice or
  yourself (ME, ME, ME), focus your message on your
  patient or referrer (YOU, YOU, YOU). Instead of
  starting your message with a phrase such as,
  Here at XYZ Healthcare, we, focus on the
  recipient of your message with a phrase such as,
  When you need faster pain relief, youll find it
  at. Readers need to know that you care more
  about them than yourself.
• Whats in it for the reader? The American
  consumer only cares about Whats in it for me?
  Your words, therefore, should include all the
  benefits to the reader. Benefits such as fewer
  appointments, less waiting, faster pain relief,
  friendlier service, greater convenience, and more
  compassion are more important than features.
• Clinical language vs. plain language Clinicians
  tend to write most healthcare materials
  (including instructions to patients!) at a 12th
  grade level. Unfortunately, most American
  consumers read at a 5th-6th-grade level. Avoid
  medical terminology and clinical language in
  favor of plain English to ensure that your
  message is received and understood. Medical
  terminology, jargon and statistics may be
  perfectly suitable and desirable when
  communicating with other health professionals.
  But, when communicating with patients, plain
  conversational language always works best.

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• Write for your target audience (Hint Thats not
  you!) Think about the patients you want in your
  practice. How old are they? Are they primarily
  white-collar professionals or blue-collar
  laborers? What do they want and need from your
  practice? Are they well-educated or not so much?
  It might help to jot down a list of their
  characteristics before crafting your marketing
  message. (Also, see 3 above.)
• Always include a call to action Perhaps the
  most common mistake in marketing writing, this is
  one area where you can be prescriptive. Tell your
  potential new patient what to do next. Visit your
  website. Call for a complimentary consultation.
  Ask about your free offer.
• For more advice about communicating effectively
  with your patients, talk to one of the marketing
  communications experts at Practice
• Builders (855-898-2710). Better still, ask us to
  help you with your message, even if its on short
  notice.